C's try to turn their attention to season

C's try to turn their attention to season

WALTHAM One of Kevin Garnett's favorite catch-phrases is that he's no different than anybody else when it comes to most matters.

So when it comes to the Chris Paul trade talk?

Yes, Garnett has also been among those following it closely.

"Everybody is paying attention to the Chris Paul situation," Garnett said on Tuesday.

And within that focus has been an increasingly close eye paid to NBA commissioner David Stern, whose role in the Paul trade scenarios has been greater because the Hornets are owned by the NBA.

It was Stern's call to strike down a three-team deal that would have sent Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers - a deal that he said afterward was turned down for "basketball reasons." And after Stern asked the Los Angeles Clippers to pony up more players and include an unprotected draft pick in the 2012 NBA draft for Paul, the Clippers walked away from the deal entirely.

Garnett has seen this play out throughout the free agency period.

Heck, he and the rest of the NBA players saw the same tactics from the owners while negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. One of the union's biggest issues throughout that process, was that the owners seemingly wanted more from one bargaining session to the next.

So to see the Hornets struggle to get a trade done for Paul, with Stern leading the way for the ownership group, doesn't surprise him.

"I don't know why everybody is shocked," Garnett said. "I think Stern has been pretty adamant about when he wants to do things, and how he does things. And now, everybody has a voice about it, or an opinion about it."

For Paul Pierce, seeing what's happening in New Orleans is a reminder of just how different things can be when the league is directly involved in approving deals.

"He (Stern) runs it, just like anything you own, you're going to have a final choice of what changes are going to be made," Pierce told reporters on Tuesday. "That was kind of like different kind of circumstances knowing that the NBA owned the New Orleans Hornets. If they didn't, then that trade probably goes through."

But that's something the Celtics aren't worried about since the C's have been out of the Paul sweepstakes for a few days now.

Instead the Celtics are more concerned with trying to get everyone on the same page as soon as possible, well aware that their preparation time is at a premium.

You can add Garnett to the list of Celtics who feel a bit rushed this season.

"Absolutely," Garnett said. "What you see, we're in a rush league right now. Timing is everything and chemistry is something that you just don't throw in the frying pan and mix it up with another something and throw something on top of that and fry it up and put it in a tortilla and put it in a microwave, heat it up and give it to you and expect it to taste good."

He added, "For those who can cook y'all know what I'm talking about. If y'all don't know what I'm talking about and can't cook, this doesn't concern you."

Celtics-Raptors preview: DeRozan, Lowry a challenge for Bradley, C's

Celtics-Raptors preview: DeRozan, Lowry a challenge for Bradley, C's

BOSTON – Avery Bradley doesn’t mind being a standout, but this is probably not what he had in mind.

Injuries have ravaged the Boston Celtics’ starting five to the point where only one player, Bradley, has been with the first unit in all 22 games this season.

Just like Bradley was looked upon to step his game up in the absence of Isaiah Thomas (right groin) at Orlando on Wednesday, he will once again be challenged to lead Boston (13-9) to victory tonight when the Thomas-less Celtics face the Toronto Raptors.

Bradley’s emergence as a two-way talent this season has overshadowed at times what has been another season of elite play defensively.

And he’ll need to be on top of his defensive game tonight against a Raptors All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

Both Lowry and DeRozan present a different kind of challenge for Bradley who will spend time defending each of them at various points during the game.

Lowry has good size, strength and deceptive quickness in addition to an under-rated perimeter game that will keep Bradley on his toes for sure.

This season he's averaging 20.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and a career-high 7.6 assists while shooting 42.9 percent on 3's which is also a career mark.

And DeRozan is having the kind of season that might get him a few league MVP votes.

His 28.0 points per game ranks fifth in the NBA, but making his numbers even more impressive is that unlike most guards DeRozan doesn’t generate much offense from three-pointers.

DeRozan averages 1.8 three-point attempts per game which is the fewest attempts among any player ranked among the league’s top-25 scorers.

The 6-foot-7 All-Star is the master of the mid-range game which accounts for 31.5 percent of the points he scores. And when he’s not shooting the mid-range, he’s working a defender in one-on-one iso-situations.

That helps explain why 76.4 percent of his two-point made field goals are unassisted.

But here’s the thing about Bradley.

As much as we give him props for what he does defensively, it’s his offense that has put him on the map as a potential All-Star this season.

Bradley is averaging a career-high 17.9 points while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. He’s also averaging a career-high 7.8 rebounds per game in addition to shooting a career-high 40.7 percent on 3's.

But for Bradley, individual accolades are only going to come his way by the Celtics winning games; preferably against above-average teams like the Toronto Raptors.

And that would make both Bradley and the Celtics stand out this season.